Worlds of Design: After the Apocalypse

Picture courtesy of Pixabay.
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“I know not what World War III will be fought with but I know World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” - Albert Einstein​

The apocalypse, as used in fiction, generally means the destruction of civilization, leading to a drastic reduction of knowledge and physical capabilities. This is reflected historically, such as when Mycenaean (early Greek) civilization fell and the region lost literacy itself for centuries. The setting itself, which is often the primary antagonist, is defined by scarcity and extreme challenges, where life is scrappy and hard.

Common Causes of Civilizational Collapse​

For designers, choosing the cause of the apocalypse defines the entire tone and available resources of the campaign. Causes can range from Natural Disasters like famine, extended drought (which ended empires like Akkad and Harappa), meteor strikes, or massive volcanic eruptions causing worldwide climate change. The destruction can also be biological, caused by a Plague/Disease far worse than the Black Death; a disease that killed most food plants, for instance, would certainly destroy modern civilization's food base.

More fantastical causes include massive numbers of Zombies or a Magical Breakdown. However, a magical apocalypse might have less far-reaching effects—unless magic itself was limited or eliminated. Conversely, a Nuclear War or atmospheric ruination is likely to leave a setting best played with "sticks and stones," as Albert Einstein implied.

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The Harsh Realities of Survival​

The focus of a post-apocalyptic setting must be on scarcity and survival. Life is violent and unpleasant, placing massive strain on survivors, as seen in Mad Max and various zombie settings. The difficult realities to remember when designing these worlds include:

1. Transport is Primitive: Horses are often quickly eaten, leaving only bicycles, donkeys, or mules for transport. Long-distance travel is rare and extremely dangerous.
2. Health is Fragile: Even a minor injury or bruise might cause death due to the complete lack of modern medical care.
3. Basic Necessities are Luxuries: Hygiene, beauty products, and many complex modern medicines are entirely unavailable.
4. Violence is the Norm: Armed and lethal raids are common, and life is violent and unpleasant.
5. Social Stress is Extreme: Survivors are often forced to interact with people they fundamentally disagree with to survive, and the individualist usually fails the fastest—everyone needs help to survive.

The drawback of using the apocalypse is that its scale is likely to dominate almost everything in your setting and gameplay, which might stifle variety over a long campaign. For this reason, many DMs prefer to run an apocalypse "before" the campaign starts, making the devastation a fixed backdrop rather than an ongoing plot engine. (See Campaign, Sequence, or One-shot and How Long is Your Game Meant to Be?)

The Fundamental Question​

The ultimate power of the post-apocalypse setting is not the destruction itself, but the way it forces players to confront the most fundamental questions of human nature. As designers, we must recognize that a long campaign cannot sustain a constant, desperate Sequence of survival. Instead, the apocalypse serves gives the DM the freedom to:

• Define the Scarcity: Decide which resources are truly gone (e.g., fuel, knowledge, magic), and which remain (e.g., pre-apocalypse artifacts, unique skills).
• Control the Focus: Use the massive devastation as a fixed backdrop to elevate the importance of human stories—the rise of new communities, the restoration of lost knowledge, or the search for a new 'safe haven.'
• Choose the Scale: Determine whether the goal is grim, desperate survival (suited for a Sequence of play) or a decades-long narrative of rebuilding (suited for a Campaign).

The Apocalypse is a canvas of consequences; the DM's job is to paint the story of hope, or the lack thereof, upon it.

Your Turn: How have you incorporated an apocalypse into your setting?

 

[Koloth]

Not all apocalypses result in a bad long term outcome. The Star Trek universe assumed that Earth suffered a WWIII and still had enough tech and ability left to attract the green pointy eared aliens. The TV Buck Rogers show had a similar concept. There are post apocalypse possibilities other then sifting though the remains looking for that 1 can in the pile that isn't swollen.

 

[CF07]

Not all apocalypses result in a bad long term outcome. The Star Trek universe assumed that Earth suffered a WWIII and still had enough tech and ability left to attract the green pointy eared aliens. The TV Buck Rogers show had a similar concept. There are post apocalypse possibilities other then sifting though the remains looking for that 1 can in the pile that isn't swollen.

As bad as they are in the moment, apocalypses often have benefits. For example, if you check into historians such as Walter Scheidel or Peter Turchin, an apocalypse of some sort can be followed by an age of prosperity due to the destruction of established oligarchies.

 

[Tonguez]

Not all apocalypses result in a bad long term outcome. The Star Trek universe assumed that Earth suffered a WWIII and still had enough tech and ability left to attract the green pointy eared aliens. The TV Buck Rogers show had a similar concept. There are post apocalypse possibilities other then sifting though the remains looking for that 1 can in the pile that isn't swollen.

I think in Genre terms post-Apocalypse implies that the "effects of the collapse' are still ongoing.

The Bell Riots/Eugenics War/WW3 etc were apocalyptic when they happened and we do see post apocalyptic Earth in First Contact.

But thats an ancient 'mythic' history as far as the Star Trek Universe is concerned, it even ends because of the intervention of Superior Beings.

I'd accept that First Contact is post-apocalyptic, but once the friendly, enlightened Vulcans arrive it quickly transitions to sci-fi

 

[Sossij]

I'd love to read that. I almost always prefer realism for anything that exists in the real world (or that could exist if circumstances allow).

I feel like it was a Greg Costikyan rant, but all I can find it this lovely "game" he made about nuclear holocaust:

Nuclear Winter

 

[dragoner]

I'd love to read that. I almost always prefer realism for anything that exists in the real world (or that could exist if circumstances allow).

Have you read Earth Abides? It is not nuclear post-apocalypse, but disease. The film that is often mentioned for a nuclear war is Threads.

 

[GMMichael]

1. Transport is Primitive: Horses are often quickly eaten, leaving only bicycles, donkeys, or mules for transport. Long-distance travel is rare and extremely dangerous.
2. Health is Fragile: Even a minor injury or bruise might cause death due to the complete lack of modern medical care.
3. Basic Necessities are Luxuries: Hygiene, beauty products, and many complex modern medicines are entirely unavailable.
4. Violence is the Norm: Armed and lethal raids are common, and life is violent and unpleasant.
5. Social Stress is Extreme: Survivors are often forced to interact with people they fundamentally disagree with to survive, and the individualist usually fails the fastest—everyone needs help to survive.

Are these harsh realities, or just the norm in medieval settings?

Not all apocalypses result in a bad long term outcome.

Maybe not. But the dinosaurs' apocalypse led to the threat of nuclear destruction . . .

 

[Tonguez]

Are these harsh realities, or just the norm in . . .

Well with plagues, famine, and roving warbands the collapse of the Roman Empire was apocalyptic for Europe, hence the Dark Ages

 

[CF07]

Well with plagues, famine, and roving warbands the collapse of the Roman Empire was apocalyptic for Europe, hence the Dark Ages

It was but a lot more slow moving than many people would think, and induced by multiple events, including the Antonine Plague, the Crisis of the Third Century's civil wars. Later on there were issues such as the Justinian Plagues, the Gothic Wars that devastated Italy, the destruction of the "tax spine" that supported the Western Roman Empire, the Huns, and the 526 Antioch earthquake. All of these really added up.

There's a great series of podcasts by historian Kyle Harper that culminated in a book, and some other sources that are fantastic. YouTube channel The Historian's Craft had a nice recent video summarizing them.

 

[Dr. Bull]

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to share a campaign I wrote back in 2010. It predates the Covid Pandemic by 10 years. Originally, it was focused on 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar. Now I've updated it for our "current future". Let me know what you think (and feel free to steal any of the ideas).
_________________

The year is 2030. Civilization lies in ruins. Humanity was not destroyed by meteors or cosmic forces. Nor was civilization struck down by climate change or nuclear winter. Instead, humanity encountered an enemy that could not be seen or felt. This tiny foe, a virus, attacked humanity’s most precious possession. This virus attacked the mind.

PAN (or the Panic Virus, as it is frequently called) mutated from a strain of Avian Flu in early 2028. It became an airborne pathogen and went undetected for months. People who were infected showed no symptoms. No quarantines were set. No health alerts were posted. By the time the warning-bells were sounded, more than 90% of the world’s population was already infected.

The PAN virus lies dormant in various parts of the human brain, particularly in the hypothalamus and the cerebral cortex. After a 5-10 month gestation period, an outbreak takes place, permanently damaging the localized area of the brain. It seems to have produced a wide variety of severe psychological conditions.

The first cases of hysteria and insanity arose in Europe. Suicide rates soared. Homicidal rampages occurred hourly. Business stopped. Schools closed. Government agencies were helpless. By May, 2029, European social services had ground to a halt. Militaries disbanded. Police forces evaporated.

Then Asia exploded... Literally.

Soldiers in Korea began a border skirmish that escalated into nuclear war. On April 3rd, 23 high-yield nuclear warheads were detonated over Korea, China, and Taiwan. The rest of the world watched in horror as 900 million people died in a single day.

The rest of the world’s nations began to fall like dominoes. Everyone went insane, to a greater or lesser degree. A portion of the population became suicidal. Others became homicidal. Some suffered from paranoid delusions, while others turned into cold-hearted psychopaths. While some only suffer from phobias, their fears are justified. Over the course of 6 months, more than 5 billion human beings have died.

Perhaps the people who died early were the lucky ones. Famine and chaos have become the order of the day. Gangs of sociopaths prowl the streets, while catatonic schizoids drool in the gutters. Enraged psychopaths scream in the night and paranoid survivalists scheme in their fortified homes...

Welcome to 2030, a modern campaign setting for Savage Worlds. Players take the roles of crazy heroes in an insane world. Money no longer has any value. Survival is the only thing that matters. Survival means clean water, plenty of food, secure shelter, and ammo...
Lots and lots of ammo!

- Dr. Bull

 

[Tonguez]

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to share a campaign I wrote back in 2010. It predates the Covid Pandemic by 10 years. Originally, it was focused on 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar. Now I've updated it for our "current future". Let me know what you think (and feel free to steal any of the ideas).
_________________

The year is 2030. Civilization lies in ruins. Humanity was not destroyed by meteors or cosmic forces. Nor was civilization struck down by climate change or nuclear winter. Instead, humanity encountered an enemy that could not be seen or felt. This tiny foe, a virus, attacked humanity’s most precious possession. This virus attacked the mind.

PAN (or the Panic Virus, as it is frequently called) mutated from a strain of Avian Flu in early 2028. It became an airborne pathogen and went undetected for months. People who were infected showed no symptoms. No quarantines were set. No health alerts were posted. By the time the warning-bells were sounded, more than 90% of the world’s population was already infected.

The PAN virus lies dormant in various parts of the human brain, particularly in the hypothalamus and the cerebral cortex. After a 5-10 month gestation period, an outbreak takes place, permanently damaging the localized area of the brain. It seems to have produced a wide variety of severe psychological conditions.

The first cases of hysteria and insanity arose in Europe. Suicide rates soared. Homicidal rampages occurred hourly. Business stopped. Schools closed. Government agencies were helpless. By May, 2029, European social services had ground to a halt. Militaries disbanded. Police forces evaporated.

Then Asia exploded... Literally.

Soldiers in Korea began a border skirmish that escalated into nuclear war. On April 3rd, 23 high-yield nuclear warheads were detonated over Korea, China, and Taiwan. The rest of the world watched in horror as 900 million people died in a single day.

The rest of the world’s nations began to fall like dominoes. Everyone went insane, to a greater or lesser degree. A portion of the population became suicidal. Others became homicidal. Some suffered from paranoid delusions, while others turned into cold-hearted psychopaths. While some only suffer from phobias, their fears are justified. Over the course of 6 months, more than 5 billion human beings have died.

Perhaps the people who died early were the lucky ones. Famine and chaos have become the order of the day. Gangs of sociopaths prowl the streets, while catatonic schizoids drool in the gutters. Enraged psychopaths scream in the night and paranoid survivalists scheme in their fortified homes...

Welcome to 2030, a modern campaign setting for Savage Worlds. Players take the roles of crazy heroes in an insane world. Money no longer has any value. Survival is the only thing that matters. Survival means clean water, plenty of food, secure shelter, and ammo...
Lots and lots of ammo!

- Dr. Bull

My opinion of this set up is going to depend entirely on how you utilize mental illness in your campaign - have you put mechanics around different psychological conditions as defined by DSM/ICD or is 'crazy' just an excuse for 'do bad things'?

Theres a reason Last of Us and similar movies have gone with fictional zombie viruses (28 Days later does Rage virus)